Salas-Jacobson left the Miami PD's public information office a few months ago after being promoted to sergeant. Her replacement in media affairs, veteran Officer Martha Carbana, was on call tonight. But since Salas-Jacobson was already on the scene, she decided to save Carbana the trip and handle PIO duties herself.

Salas-Jacobson gathered information from fellow investigators, then came over and gave an update to the reporters, then went back and continued the investigation. Carbana also monitored the situation and called reporters to make sure they had the information they needed.

The final results of a night's work may look thrilling in the paper, but a lot of checking on not-so-thrilling tips goes into them.

For example, on Thursday I got a page about a child drowning in Miramar. The public information officer at Miramar Fire-Rescue checked it out and came back with the news that the drowning victim was a youngster -- as in a young puppy.

Retired Hollywood police officer Thomas Simcox arrived in federal court Friday, a day after three of his colleagues appeared in the same courtroom, seeking to delay legal action against them for their alleged roles in a fake organized crime sting run by the FBI.

Simcox, 50, sat with his attorney, dressed casually in dark slacks and a pullover red striped short-sleeved shirt, unlike the other three officers who wore dark suits with bold-colored ties. For example, Thomas Harrison wore a pink and purple tie.

And at Thursday's proceedings, Jeffry Courtney and Kevin Companion, sat in the courtroom almost mute. Their faces looked like they were chisled out of granite. Behind them sat Harrison, who laughed and whispered in his wife's ear appearing unfazed by his surroundings.

On Friday, U. S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer, agreed to Simcox's request for a postponement, delaying his arraignment hearing until March 30.

The three others -- Companion, 41, Courtney, 52, and Harrison, 46 -- will appear before Seltzer on March 29. Seltzer approved a two-week delay for the arraignments of Companion, Harrison and Courtney on Thursday.

Simcox's hearing was held a day after the others because his attorney, Bruce Udolf, did not want his client to have to be in the same courtroom with the others. Simcox had been cooperating with investigators for about a month prior to the arrests.

Simcox is alleged to have worn a wire and tried to solicit other officers into joining the operation. Although the officers face no criminal action since they turned Simcox down, they could be fired for not reporting his actions to a supervisor.

The FBI sting, dubbed Operation Tarnished Badge, was part of a two-year probe in which the officers are accused of providing protection for what they thought were illegal gambling and drug-dealing operations run by a New York crime family.

They face charges of extortion; taking bribes; dealing in stolen property; protecting a rigged, high-stakes card game; cargo theft; and transporting several pounds of heroin from Miami-Dade to Hollywood.

Until recently, Simcox had been the only one of the four cooperating with authorities. Now all four are working with prosecutors and offering up what they know in an attempt to cut a deal and avoid lengthy prison sentences.

Goulet, left, presented himself as "doctor" to patients at six medical clinics and to radio listeners throughout South Florida.

An undercover investigation found Goulet treating people for sexual dysfunction, pain and other ailments despite not having a medical license. Detectives arrested him Monday and charged him with practicing medicine without a license.

Goulet's act apparently fooled South Floridians for years. In 1996, he was interviewed for a 1,600-word Miami Herald section-front story about male impotence. The story mentioned ads Goulet aired on the Steve Kane radio show, where Kane's wife marveled at how Goulet's treatments improved her husband's sexual performance.

In recent years, Goulet bought radio time on local AM stations and called it the Dr. Marc Goulet Show.

Wonder if Goulet will give up the clinics and move to a full-time radio career. Perhaps a tribute show highlighting the music of Robert Goulet (left)?

The SPJ's local chapter fired off an open letter to Miami Police Chief John Timoney asking him to intervene and calling Miller's arrest "simply outrageous."

Last week, the SPJ's Legal Defense Fund announced it was donating $1,000 to help Miller with his legal fight. Category 305, the Miami web publication Miller was working for the night of his arrest, will pitch in another $1,000 (here is Cat305's update on the case).

The legal battle will likely begin this week, with Miller due in court Wednesday morning. He has already pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him, including disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence.

Two Miami men are recovering from gunshot wounds to their legs after shooting each other tonight at a home in the 400 block of Northwest 33rd Street.

The shootings capped off an argument the two men had over a PlayStation game, according to Officer Willie Moreno, a Miami police spokesman.

"A stupid thing to fight about," Moreno said.

No word yet on what game sparked the fight. Maybe someone should tell these guys about the old Nintendo Zapper. It's plastic, non-lethal and, c'mon, what's the worst that could happen from a game of Duck Hunt?

Just an hour after this man - Roger Dean Murray - walked into a Pompano Beach appliance store and allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend multiple times, dozens of gawkers gathered near a convenience store, where he ditched his getaway car.

Some said they were just curious after seeing breaking news coverage of the shooting on TV. Others, like Wes Ponder, said they want to make sure law enforcement handled the situation correctly.

"Sometimes police get out of hand in situations like this,'' Ponder, 50, said, while standing near a group of TV and newspaper reporters. "They can be too aggressive. I want to make sure everything is done right."

Still, Ponder admitted he was a tad nosy.

"I heard some guy shot his old lady," he said. "It's a love thang, a love quarrel."

Turns out Ponder was right.

Murray, 27, of Miami Gardens, shot Derica Edwards-Clark, 26, of Fort Lauderdale, at the Florida Builder Appliances showroom at 1742 W. Atlantic Blvd. The two dated for about a year and a half, but broke up in January, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

No details yet on what caused Murray, who has no prior criminal record in Florida, to snap.

Nothing too spectacular about a fire that broke out late last night in an unoccupied, under-construction condo in downtown Miami.

Except, of course, the brave and apparently fit firefighters who climbed 44 flights of stairs to get to the blaze, which started in the top floors of the highrise at 1800 N. Bayshore Dr., a block east of Biscayne Boulevard.

"They had to get up there by foot," Miami Fire Rescue spokesman Iggy Carroll Jr. said last night at the scene. It was a minute or two before 11 p.m., and the local TV crews were clamoring around Carroll so they could put him on-air live at the top of their broadcasts.

Climbing those 44 flights wasn't an easy StairMaster workout in gym shorts and sneakers, either. The firefighters had to lug pounds of heavy equipment up all those stairs while wearing their fire boots and thick jackets.

The fire was under control in about 25 minutes, and no one was injured while putting it out. The cause is under investigation. (Photo credit: NBC6.net)